N.Y. cupcake shop plans 8 Georgia locations

Crumbs Bake Shop Inc. wants to open as many as eight locations in the state, according to an Oct. 11 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The company announced Oct. 11 it sold more than4 million shares of its stock, generating about $9.8 million to fund its new store growth.

“With our capital needs now met, we can execute our real estate strategy of opening up to 25 new in-line stores and kiosks in handpicked super regional malls in 2013,” Julian R. Geiger, president and CEO of Crumbs (Nasdaq: CRMB), said in a statement.

Georgia appeared as a target market in the company’s investor relations packet, with eight locations statewide. But, it did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Crumbs, known for its oversized cupcakes, was founded in 2003 by husband-and-wife team Jason and Mia Bauer. The first location was on Manhattan’s Upper West Side.

Today, the company has 54 locations, including 35 shops in New York. The goal is to have 116 shops by 2014, according to the filing. The company’s focus is on mall locations.

Salt Yard. A new gastropub is slated for Buckhead. It’s called Salt Yard.

Christian Favalli, the son of the owner of longtime restaurant La Grotta, and his wife, Kristy Jones, are opening the eatery on the ground floor of The Brookwood condominium. It will take more than 3,000 square feet next door to Watershed on Peachtree, a restaurant from Emily Saliers of the Indigo Girls that relocated to the building earlier this year.

Salt Yard will offer tapas, craft cocktails and local beers, according to Harold Shumacher, president of The Shumacher Group Inc., who worked on the lease. It should open in late winter or early spring, he said.

Estate Opening

Tony Conway, CEO and founder of A Legendary Event, is set to open his new special event facility, 3109 Piedmont Estate and Gardens, on Nov. 3.

Called “Estate” for short, the more than 14,000-square-foot venue will host weddings, parties and corporate events. Conway signed a 10-year lease this summer for the space off Piedmont Avenue, once known as Anthony’s. He has spent around $500,000 updating the circa 1790s mansion and landscaping the 3-acre site. Furnishings are provided by Mitchell Gold; art by Bill Lowe Gallery; and landscaping by Ed Castro Landscape.

A Legendary Event designs and caters around 2,000 events a year at places such as the Atlanta History Center and the Woodruff Arts Center. Estate represents the first venue over which Conway has complete control.

New Nightclub

The Roaring Twenties are about to be reborn in a new nightclub and dessert lounge, set to open this November in Midtown.

Gatsby’s — named for the classic 1920s novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald — is taking the former 3-Legged Cowboy space at the Midtown Promenade shopping center off Monroe Drive, according to Eric Claxton, a real estate developer who is opening the club.

Think of flappers, songstresses and black-and-white movie showings, Claxton said. There will be live music three to five nights a week, with local and out-of-town DJs spinning on the dance floor. The venue is about 8,000 square feet.

Gatsby’s should open Nov. 1, Claxton said. The signature drink is called Gatsby’s Giggle Water. Coffee and dessert also will be served.

Claxton said the goal is to open similar concepts in Savannah, Ga., and Charleston, S.C.

New Chef

Atlanta-based Legacy Restaurant Partners has named a new executive chef for three of its downtown restaurants.

Matt McCormick will lead the kitchens at Der Biergarten, Max’s Coal Oven Pizzeria and STATS, located on Marietta Street in the Luckie Marietta District. He replaces Chris Von Egger.

McCormick earned a degree in hospitality management from Johnson & Wales University. He previously worked as executive chef for J. Alexander’s Georgia, Alabama and South Florida locations, as well as executive chef partner for Seasons 52.

Legacy Restaurant Partners, a subsidiary of Legacy Property Group, has been trying to position itself as a top restaurant group in the city. It recently opened a pair of restaurants and private event space in Midtown: Olmsted and Article 14.